Darvocet Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Estate of Louisiana Woman

The family of a Louisiana woman who suffered a fatal heart attack has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the makers of Darvocet. This latest Darvocet lawsuit names Eli Lilly and Co., Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals Inc., Vintage Pharmaceuticals Inc., Qualitest Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. as defendants.

Darvocet, Darvon, and other drugs containing the opiod painkiller propoxyphene were on the market for decades before being recalled last November. The recall was prompted by a study which confirmed they could cause a serious and potentially fatal irregular heartbeat. However, the medications, long the subject of safety concerns, had already been pulled from the U.K. market six years earlier. European regulators had also recalled the drugs nearly a year-and-a-half before the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) finally acted.

Since the FDA ordered the drugs off the market, the makers of Darvocet and other propoxyphene painkillers have been named in scores of product liability lawsuits. Such lawsuits allege the drug makers failed to warn doctors and patients about their association with serious and potentially fatal heart rhythm problems. Next month, a hearing will be held before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict ligation to determine if these lawsuits should be consolidated in one federal court for pretrial proceedings.

According to this latest Darvocet lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in New Orleans on May 24, Elizabeth Houlihan began using Darvocet or a generic equivalent sometime in 2009. She was still taking the drug last May when she suffered her fatal heart attack. The lawsuit, brought by her children and her estate, claims that had Ms. Houlihan been aware the drug’s risks, she would not have used it. The lawsuit seeks damages for medical and funeral expenses, physical and mental pain and suffering, loss of love, affection, society and services and interest.